Bonnie Sparks Life after Amputation (Right Foot)

Invincible. Webster defines it as, “incapable of being defeated, overcome or subdued. I define it as, “Aunt Bonnie.”

Chances are if you’ve been fortunate enough to know Bonnie Sparks, you’ve been touched by her kindness and her want to go

above and beyond for others. You’ve witnessed her compassion, you’ve felt the warmth of her positivity, and probably shared a laugh, and made a memory or two. You’ve most definitely heard a tale about her family and most likely met her tiny sidekick, Tito. But what you don’t know is the story behind the person she is today. The goal-crushing, statistic-blowing, comeback from the absolute most, is that all you got, person that is Bonnie J. Sparks, age 51.

She had her first heart attack at 34 and her second five years later in 2012 and by 2021 she would have two more, along with a total of 5 stints in her heart. In 2014, flesh-eating necrotizing fasciitis infected a sore in her left leg while she was wading in the shallow waters of a beach on a family vacation. Within days of returning home, she was rushed to the hospital and spent most of the next 3 ½ weeks in a medically included coma.

After that, Aunt Bonnie had had enough. She wasn’t going to live a life that controlled her anymore, but no change comes without sacrifice. She was going to need to make some serious changes. In 2019 Aunt Bonnie was encouraged by the Chass Clinic to participate in a 5K. This meant getting healthy, losing weight, and working out. This was a lot for someone who at the time weighed over 300 pounds and couldn’t get from the car to the doctor's office door without assistance. In February 2019, she started working out, watching what she was eating, managing her diabetes, and taking steps toward the future she wanted to live. In July of 2019, as people chanted her name, Aunt Bonnie reached the finish line of the CHASS community health center’s 5K run/walk! While she was the last participant to complete the 5k -She had done it! I am attaching the video of Bonnie crossing the finish line (if the link doesn't work, you can find the video on the CHASS 5K Run/Walk & Kid's Bubble Room (2019) – the last participant brought the most powerful energy as the crowd cheered and volunteer med students walked with her laughing and clapping along. There was also an article written in the Washington Post, I will link that as well here: Washington Post

This was just the start of the journey to health and recovery for Aunt Bonnie. In January 2020, she underwent bariatric surgery and was down over 140 pounds. In July of 2022, she had panniculectomy surgery and roughly nine pounds of extra skin was removed. Since then, Aunt Bonnie has stayed active in her health journey. She adopted her chihuahua, Tito and the two regularly would take long walks together.

Currently receiving disability, Bonnie liked to work part-time jobs like delivering cannabis orders for a local dispensary, working there since late 2020. And she could tend a bar or too for fun! She enjoyed having co-workers and having something to keep her active plus trying to relieve her anxiety. Her bartending buddies were the highlight of any given Sunday.

Everything changed in early January of 2023 when she was on a cannabis delivery run and two men violently robbed her at gunpoint. They took her money and left her on the walkway of an abandoned house, too terrified for her life to move. When she was finally able to get back in her car and contacted the police, they informed her there had been several delivery-related robberies lately. She was lucky to be alive.

Her, now EX, employer took the matter lightly. Resisting her requests to not be face to face with masked patients, and requesting a move to the back office, however, that request was denied. She was suffering from extreme PTSD and her employment with the company was terminated.

The bartending job was for a local bar. There she found her people. She felt safe and loved and appreciated. It was a place she enjoyed going to and being a part of.

In April, Aunt Bonnie treated herself to a cruise with her sister-in-law and two friends where she had a chance to relax and let her soul stretch in the sun, emerging from the shadows of trauma she’d been engulfed by earlier this year. She had already paid for the trip and unfortunately did not purchase the trip insurance. When she returned from her trip, she noticed a sore on her foot that had gotten worse. Within weeks she was admitted to Henry Ford Hospital where the start of the hardest decisions she would have to make, began. Her diagnosis is Charcot Foot. Surgery was scheduled for June 21st to insert rods into the bones of her right foot in hopes to save it from amputation. Charcot foot is a rare but serious condition that causes the weakening of the bone structure of the foot, usually occurring in people who have significant nerve damage (neuropathy.) It also makes healing from wounds a lot harder.

On May 30th, 2023, Bonnie was admitted to the emergency room at Henry Ford for a wound caused by the collapse of her foot, where her skin split open. She began treatment for an infection as well as this ulcer. Once when the bandage was changed her foot started to bleed, and it wouldn’t stop. The wound was so deep and there were many blood vessels involved. Rapid response was called, and the room quickly filled with staff. Her nurse Abi comforted her and calmed her as she realized she was losing an enormous amount of blood. Knowing that we almost lost one of the most caring, kind, most spectacular people this world has ever known was insane.

After some tears and conversations with the ones who have nothing but love for her, the decision was made. In order to save Aunt Bonnie’s life, they would need to amputate her lower right leg/foot. On Wednesday, June 7th, the procedure was done and the newest chapter of Aunt Bonnie’s life began.

Today, Aunt Bonnie is healing well. She has completed 2 weeks of in-patient rehab and has begun to learn how to renavigate parts of life we often don’t give a second thought to like getting dressed, taking a shower, grocery shopping, getting a glass of water, taking her dog for a walk… These are all things we fold into our daily lives without having to pause much to think of how because these things are designed for the fully abled.

We’re requesting donations of any amount to help Aunt Bonnie regain a part of her life and her independence. Currently, Bonnie is unable to work those part-time jobs and is temporarily living with her twin sister, Connie. She was generously gifted an electric wheelchair from a former patient of her rehab facility. Medicare covers their portion however out of pocket costs quickly add up. Is her apartment going to be ADA accessible to live in, costs for medically necessary home equipment (shower seat, handrails, etc), office visits, outpatient rehab, transportation to these visits, mobility items, wound care, and prescriptions; the list is endless.

Everyone deserves to have a home where they can feel comfortable and independent. Additionally, we want to work on helping to cover some of the cost of a prosthetic limb. All money raised will help offset the expenses related to her medical and care costs.

If there is one thing that Aunt Bonnie will always be known for and that’s making adventures out of the every day. Whether it be a picnic trip to the park, exploring a place we’ve never been, or making friends out of strangers, she’s always down for the ride. She’s caring in ways other people aren’t. She’s passionate and generous with things like her time, her love, and compliments. She’s willing to learn and to be humble. She’s been “Aunt Bonnie” to many throughout the years and she’s loved us all. I have no doubt that she will make adventures out of the future, she will rise and bloom and become the best of her situation once again. She is not the darkness she has endured but the light she refused to surrender. This is her fight song.